Hooded
by leDia-chan
Summary: A contract went wrong, and now a Magi is suffering for it. Amelia, left without memories, must learn to overcome her own fears and discover her past, even as Walpurgis Nacht approaches. And who is the Hooded Songstress that haunts her dreams with roses?


"You would make a marvelous Puella Magi, if only you contracted with me," Kyubey proclaimed, waving his tail back and forth in the moonlight. Before him sat the hunched form of Kolina Amelia, her yellow hair falling around her shoulders. A sob wracked her frame.

"W-why?" She asked, her watery royal blue eyes peering up at him.

"Witches and other evil creatures are the cause of your pain, are they not? They killed him, didn't they? Contract with me and we can work together to rid the world of them." Amelia's field of vision seemed to collapse in on itself, revealing a stark white room. A bloody form lay in front of her, one arm stretched out to her. A whispery voice echoed from it.

"Please-... don-don't go.." The hand latched onto her skirt, and she pulled it up to her cheek, tears falling.

"I- I'm so very sorry. I didn't do it soon enough," Amelia broke down crying and sobbing again as the person in front of her that she used to love fizzled away with a crack.

"Will you contract with me?" Kyubey asked again. Amelia sniffed, getting herself under control, and nodded. A brilliant light enveloped her vision, clearing to reveal another room, this one reaching past her line of sight into darkness. A warm light filtered from overhead, catching on hundreds of strung crystals.

"What is your wish?" Amelia stood shakily.

"I- I wish that I would forget about my lost love. I can't go on with the memory of him, not when we parted so badly." Kyubey's ever present smile seemed to deepen by a fraction.

"Your wish is now granted, and you are now a Puella Magi, for that is the price of your wish." A sudden pain seemed to form in Amelia's chest. Kyubey tilted his head, curious. What was wrong with the contract? The crystals around them started dropping to the ground, shattering.

Finally, the darkness vanished, leaving the collapsed form of Amelia and Kyubey on the moonlit terrace. Amelia stirred feebly, her eyes opening.

"Where am I?" She asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Around one finger sat a brilliant silver ring, a pitch black stone shaped in a circle set in it.

"You are on a terrace behind your home," Kyubey began. Amelia looked at him, an odd look in her eyes.

"Home? I don't remember a home," Kyubey's grin grew bigger.

"Ah, I see. The contract went haywire for some reason, and you lost your memory. If you would join me for a night of witch hunting? I can explain everything to you," Amelia nodded tentatively.

* * *

><p>A hooded, cloaked form sat on the edge of a tower, playing with a glass rose in their fingers. Shimmering black boots with yellow accents lay over the edge. Kyubey's white form sat next to the figure, watching over the city.<p>

"Well, tonight is decidely quiet." Kyubey mused. The figure chuckled, throwing back their hood and revealing brilliant yellow hair.

"Are you sure there is no other Puella Magi's to be helping? There has been no witch activity in the last month, according to you, which is impossible. Someone, somewhere has to lose hope and become twisted."

"Perhaps there is. But they need the experience more than you do," Kyubey interjected, confirming Amelia's thoughts. She grinned and stood.

"Well, tell me where they are then, I'm bored out of my mind and could use something interesting to watch." She vanished the rose, and threw off the cloak.

"Wait!" Kyubey called as Amelia started to head off on the building tops. She turned to look at him, brilliant blue eyes looking at him cautiously. She winced and rubbed her right shoulder, where a midnight black circular stone sat.

"There is one nearby, isn't there?" Kyubey asked, and she nodded stiffly. Amelia turned again, and jumped down the side of the building. She reached up and tapped the gem on her shoulder, before drawing her hand away, and throwing something to her feet. A bright circle of yellow light formed, and her descent slowed to the point where she could control where she was going.

When she was sufficiently close to the ground, she jumped again, and the yellow circle of light disappeared back into the gem on her shoulder. Her hair streamed past her, whipping around.

"So, where is it?" She asked as Kyubey appeared beneath of lamp post.

"It should be nearby, you've never had that strong of a reaction before. Of course, it could be a powerful witch as well." Amelia nodded and jogged down the sidewalk. She drifted to a stop in front of a large tower that was under construction.

"Here."

Amelia walked slowly into the building's frame, watching for any signs of the barrier.

When she was in the center, the world around her warped strangely before what seemed to be thousands of origami insects swarmed around her, pulling along a colorful backdrop of exotic flowers.

She looked upwards into the framework, which now looked to be covered in foliage.

Her view was blocked by thousands of folded butterflies. Sighing, she spun on her heels once, her arms out. When she came to a stop, her two throwing discs were in her hands, the gleaming black and gold filigree and patterns catching the light. Amelia kicked off, a burst of dust billowing on the ground.

"Spinning Hiatus!" She spun, the disks catching the folded paper and causing it to fall to shreds.

Amelia glanced upwards and saw the witch, perched at the top of the building. It appeared to be made of string of many colors, all bound together by a sun flower. The strings floated and twisted, sometimes looking like arms and hands, other times appearing as intricate patterns. All around the witch floated her minions; hands with roses and carnations tied to the end as if a bracelet. Amelia landed on a rafter, lines of runes rippling out from her step.

_'Leave me here, where I can mourn.'_

_'Don't you know the meaning of Fate?'_

_'Leave me!'_

_'Cinthiya will cut your strings which bind you to life!'_

_'Fate no longer plays this game!'_

Amelia frowned at the lines of runes, puzzling over what they implied about the witch. Shrugging, she pushed off from the rafter directly at the witch. The minions darted forward, rusted scissors appearing in their fingers. The witched shrieked angrily, more lines of runes darting from it.

_'Heed my warning!'_

_'Strings are fragile things; so easy to cut!'_

_'This girl is mine!'_

Amelia frowned again, before ducking under the blades of a pair of scissors. Another hand darted out at her, and she tapped the gem on her shoulder. A brilliant gold and black disk appeared around her, like a hula-hoop. She threw her hands up, and the disk spun angrily before darting to the encroaching minions and smashing them.

While they were distracted, Amelia was able to jump to the witch unimpeded.

"Spinning!..." She gagged as strings wrapped around her, binding her arms together an creeping around her neck as if to strangle her.

"Egh!" She struggled, and Cinthiya (the witch) laughed an insane laugh, pulling her in closer. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noted Kyubey sitting on a rafter, his face its usual stoic self; tail twitching back and forth.

"You... you promised!" She whispered, glaring at Kyubey. "My memories for my life!" Kyubey's tail stopped moving back an forth, and he tilted his head to the side.

"I suppose you are correct," He mused.

"Kyubey!" She shrieked frantically, as the witch loosened her hold for a moment. "You know what would happen if _I _broke the agreement! Imagine what would happen if _you_ did! No more energy to gather!" Kyubey twitched his head to the other side.

Suddenly, he jumped at the sunflower on the witch, digging his teeth into it. He chomped hungrily, until the witch was gone completely. During the last few bites, Cinthiya's grip on Amelia was gone, and she started to fall. Frantically, she tapped the gem on her shoulder and threw the yellow disk to her feet. A few feet above the ground, she fell willingly onto the ground in a heap, heaving her breath.

Kyubey landed beside her, shivering.

"Just for this, you owe me another witch this month. That took too much energy from my quota." He curled up next to her.

"N-Next time, I'll fight with another Magi." Amelia said shakily, drifting off into sleep, even as the moon began its descent in the night sky.

* * *

><p><strong>What do you think? I intended for this to be longer, but I thought that would be a good ending place. So, Amelia (Kolina's her last name) is a fairly powerful Magi, and was only defeated because she's working alone, which will be explored more in depth next chapter. When her wish was grante by Kyubey, something went wrong with the contract, and she lost her memories. In exchange, Kyubey will prevent her from becoming a witch, and protect her in dire situations ("My memories for my life."). There is an importance for the place of the contract, but that will also be explored later (Hint: it's more obvious what the place is than you may think). Also, Amelia <em>will<em> meet other Magi (namely Mami), but that will occur in a chapter or too after the majority of Amelia's backstory is gone over. R&R!**


End file.
